Martial Arts & Fitness

In 1995, I worked the national championship tournament for Tae Kwondo in Colorado Springs.  It was my second martial arts competition.  The first was a couple of years earlier when I worked the Judo competition at the Tennessee Sportsfest.

I've always had a passing interest in martial arts but have never really followed up on that interest.  I do recall that the Colorado Springs tournament gave me the opportunity to hang out with Nitro of American Gladiator fame.

Brad Hatcher of Hatcher Martial Arts became a friend many years ago, partly because of his injuries.  

Brad, who was winning international competitions when most were long-since retired from competition, has remained competitive and, yes, occasionally injured.

Which means we get to stay in touch.

His dojo/gym, which maintains a cadre of dedicated members, some of which have been there for 20 years or more, is something of a local institution.

To many folks, the first things that come to mind when they think of martial arts are fighting, mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions, or the movie Karate Kid.

MMA is hot right now due in no small part to the emergence of a female athlete, Ronda Rousey.  She is the sport's current superstar in a sport that has always been totally dominated by its male participants.

It is fierce competition and definitely all about fighting.

And in the Karate Kid movie, the end of the movie is (no spoiler alert needed surely) victory for Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.

But martial arts is not about all that at all.

I liked the movie Karate Kid.  "Wax on, wax off" became the catchphrase used to describe many tasks that had an ulterior purpose.  It was about a whole lot more than a kid finding a father figure and beating the bad guy in the end.

Daniel (from the movie) answers it all when Mr. Miyagi asks him why he is doing karate:  "So I won't have to fight."  Mr. Miyagi's answer was "Miyagi have hope for you."

That's part of it.  Self defense.  I know that Brad has taught self-defense classes for years. A lot of those are for women who might not have to be so fearful of going out alone.

I know that martial arts training is also great for self-discipline.  I've seen lots of kids that lacked discipline or even any measure of self-control get into martial arts and become model citizens.  Their behavior not only improves but so do their grades.

What you usually don't think about when you think of martial arts are the fitness benefits.  Spar with someone for two minutes and you'll know what I'm talking about.

I talk a lot about the benefits of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT--CrossFit is one type).  Components of martial arts training are definitely HIIT.

If a typical gym isn't your thing and running, swimming, or biking seem like terminal boredom, you might check into one of the local dojo's. 

But a little advice:  It is all about the teacher.  If the emphasis is on fighting, you might want to look elsewhere.